NAT Group declined to be interviewed by PRWeek about the response to its campaign but, in a statement published on the company's website, it said it was trying to make the bus "attractive to the younger generation".

The statement continued: "While being a little tongue in cheek, it was in no way intended to cause offence to either men or women and, if the advert has done so, then we apologise unreservedly. There has certainly been no intention to objectify either men or women."